A Witch Afoot
by Lisa Telramor
Summary: Satoshi runs into someone unexpected at a heist. What on earth is a witch doing there?


_AN:The last DCMK/DNAngel crossover fic for the moment, written for the random prompt of Akako-Satoshi: Entangled_

Ordinarily Satoshi wouldn't bother being involved with a heist that Dark isn't involved in. He's seen the note, different methodology in its warning, different handwriting, different signature, different thief. But unfortunately for him, the thief is interested in a Hikari work, and anything Hikari falls under Satoshi's responsibility.

The necklace in question is a ruby set in silver with elaborate enamel backing; quite pretty objectively speaking, but the Eternal Heart is one of the more obscure Hikari works. It was a gift to a lover by one of Satoshi's ancestors, and not even a work of one of the more notable ancestors. The man had been one of Krad's tamers, died young, and possessed no great magical talent. The artwork had a spark, yes, but it didn't have the breath of life most Hikari works had. Somehow it had still managed to gain a reputation as a sort of longevity booster. The lover had lived to a good age, as had each successive descendant to wear the necklace until the latest had decided to have it displayed instead of wearing it.

She should have just kept it private. Not even Dark would have wanted it if she had. Now there is a thief Satoshi only knew about in passing after it and a high likelihood that Dark would show up just for the hell of it.

Satoshi hates his family. Even the harmless artworks bring nothing good back to him.

The inspector brought in for this clashes with Saehara, each of them obnoxiously loud and prone to jumping on the slightest hint of a clue even when none were present. Satoshi doesn't know much about this Kaitou Kid, but if his methods are anywhere remotely similar to Dark's, he would have a simple time waltzing in under disguise in this chaos. No amount of face pinching is going to hold up for long and half the police present barely know the other half.

Satoshi leaves the inspectors to their squabbling. The usual traps set for Dark are active and the case is riddled with its own fail safes. The defenses there are about as good as they are going to get, and likely just as useless as ever. His focus is on the escape routes. If the thief is like Dark—and he has heard that this thief also enjoys escaping through the sky—then he will likely choose a similar route. And if Dark does show up after all, well, Satoshi will be in position for that as well.

He is just settling into the perfect vantage point when he sees a teenage girl creeping down a stairwell. It is not Harada Risa for once, nor her sister. Satoshi doesn't recognize the poker straight dark red hair or her face. She is in a ridiculously revealing outfit, a cropped top and tight pants with a red scarf looped around her hips. The outfit is made to catch and draw the eye, not hide, but she moves like she is trying to avoid notice. She stooped a few feet away from Satoshi's hiding place to stick a piece of paper against one of floor tiles.

There is a tingling rush of magic in Satoshi's other sense. A witch. Krad stirs in the back of his mind. Satoshi blanks his emotions.

"What are you doing?" He abandons his hiding place. The girl whirls, her magic swirling like the afterimage of a rearing snake around her. She looks at him and…smiles?

"Just setting up a little something for a certain thief," she says. There's magic lacing her voice, magic in her footsteps as she approaches, and Satoshi can feel it crowding his mind. There is an awful lot of bare skin showing on her. Especially leading toward her cleavage—why his eyes are drawn there he isn't sure; Satoshi doesn't have any interest in that sort of thing. "I suppose you'd be the White Feather?" she says, but that last bit is more to herself than for Satoshi.

It chills him though, snapping through her attempt to ensnare him. She almost succeeded too. Satoshi narrows his eyes. The girl smiles, bright red lips and perfect eyebrows over reddish-brown eyes. "It's not polite to enchant someone on the first meeting," Satoshi says.

"That's exactly the time to do it," the girl counters. "First impressions are the most lasting." There is a hint of teeth in her smile. Elsewhere shouting starts. The heist is on. "I don't mean to trespass on another practitioner's territory, but the thief is mine you see."

"Is he." The spell she placed moments before felt like a binding of some sort.

There are definitely teeth in her smile. "He just hasn't accepted that yet."

"I'm afraid you're interfering with police matters," Satoshi says. Detached, for she is the sort of magic user that feeds off emotions and twisting them to her will. Lucky for him that he doesn't have an access of such things for her to toy with. "And you're interfering with a personal grudge."

"Against Kid?"

"Against anyone who touches family artwork."

There is a shift in the air. The girl is an arm's length away, and then closer, her magic reaching for Satoshi. It's automatic to raise his own in response, and that rouses Krad, splitting his concentration down the middle. It's a silent struggle of wills, Satoshi against the pressure on both sides to give in. He could win if he just took out his brushes, but he will not. He doesn't need his family's methods, doesn't need—

A hand touches his jaw, tilts his face up and her face is a breath away from his. Lips brush his. Satoshi jerks back, losing his concentration, letting her magic batter up against him in tight tangles. Krad sweeps to the forefront of his mind and drags on that bit of magic that triggers the shift. His bones ache and fire lances down his back.

The hallway explodes into smoke and chaos.

Two inspectors and half a dozen officers barrel after a cackling figure dressed in white. It's distracting enough that the enchantress loses her grip and even Krad is left momentarily stunned. Satoshi grits his teeth and wrenches back into control.

"Akako-hime!" the man in white calls. Kid, it has to be Kid, but what sort of thief wears _white?_ "How lovely to see you!" He dodges a tackle and jumps neatly over one of the traps meant for Dark—a pit trap that the officers all fall into. Their shrieks are cut off as the floor closes over them. What is the point of traps when they catch the police instead of the thief? Kid bounces past, somehow avoiding the entirety of the enchantress's trap. "Good evening to you too, Detective!" he chirps before heading up the stairs.

So much for Satoshi's vantage point.

The girl hisses between her teeth and chases after him.

Odd. Satoshi was sure Dark would show up. There's not much point in chasing after Kid now, not when he's probably reached the rooftop. Instead Satoshi finds the release button for the pit trap. The unhappy voices of eight police officers echo up at him.

"I'll go find a rope," he says, not caring if they can hear him over the profanity being spouted or not. His back still aches. And he almost got caught by a love spell of all things. _Pathetic_ , Krad sneers, still awake and ready to try and pull control away at the slightest hint of weakness. Satoshi ignores him.

Satoshi has succeeded in finding a rope (and releasing almost a dozen police officers from their own traps. This is just embarrassing) when the white suited thief lands in front of him. He has the witch from earlier unconscious and slung over one shoulder.

Satoshi reaches for his handcuffs.

"No need for that," the thief says. He twists his hand and in a puff of white smoke, the Eternal Heart is dangling from his gloved fist. "It seems this isn't what I was looking for after all." He tosses it. The silver and gemstone glint in the low light. Satoshi catches it. Its magic recognizes the Hikari blood in him and warms beneath his touch; he could change it, shape it to what he wanted and it would respond happily.

"You're returning it?"

"I overheard it's personally important to you. Figured I'd give it back now instead of later." Kid grins. It is odd how much a bit of shadow and a monocle managed to hide his face. Maybe he has magic of his own too. If he's using it though, Satoshi can't feel it.

"What kind of thief returns what he steals?!"

Satoshi and Kid look as one to the man in the police uniform watching this exchange. Satoshi grabs his handcuffs and lunges. Dark rips off his disguise, leaping back with his wings spread wide.

Dark points at Kid. "You're a freaking disgrace to the name of thieves everywhere! And wearing white! What the hell is even wrong with you?!"

Kid bows. "Kaitou Kid, Moonlit Magician at your service. I happen to be a gentleman thief, and would hardly keep what I don't need."

"The whole point of stealing is to take what's not yours!"

"Something you'd know very well, Dark," Satoshi says. He catches one of Dark's ankles sending him crashing back to the ground with a yelp. Satoshi manages to cuff one of his wrists but Dark squirms free before he can do more than that.

With a powerful beat of wings, Dark lands on top of the roof. "Ha! You're slipping, Commander!" The Eternal Heart dangles from his hand. "If the moron in white doesn't want it, I'll be glad to take it off your hands."

"Rude," Kid mutters.

Krad yanks on Satoshi's magic and Satoshi winces. He is not. Feeling. Anything.

"Want me to get it back?" Kid offers.

Okay, he's feeling something, but it isn't anything Krad can use. Satoshi laughs incredulously. Kid should have flown away already. "Dark," he calls. "That necklace belongs to a young woman whose family has had it for over a century. I'm sure she'd be overjoyed to hear that Dark stole it back for her from Kaitou Kid."

"Stop trying to manipulate me Hiwatari. You're not good at it." Dark's wings block out the moon. "Thanks for the necklace. See you around!"

Well, it had been worth a shot. If Satoshi is lucky, maybe Daisuke would talk Dark into giving it back. Dark is susceptible to the gratitude of a pretty young woman after all.

Kid lets out a low whistle. "Well, that was different. When you free Nakamori-keibu, let him know I tried to return the gem, ok?" Kid gives a bow. "And sorry for Akako-hime. She's determined to catch me in her own way."

Kid presses some sort of button on his suit and was hauled upward. Satoshi watches him go with Krad's frustration bubbling hard enough that it felt like his own. Please let them never cross paths again.

Later, after all the officers are free and the traps are reset or removed, Satoshi examines the spell the witch set earlier. It's a binding spell all right, one meant to turn whoever tripped it into her obedient servant. Satoshi leaves it there with a seal of his own over top to keep it dormant. Next time Dark has a heist, he'll remove his seal and see if Dark trips it off.


End file.
